Page 37 of Her Ruthless Protector

“If you do, I’m kicking you out, and the flirting comes to an end.”

“I’d do this for any woman in your position. It has nothing to do with the fact that before this little competition is over, we’re going to be very well-acquainted.”

“Well thanks for that. I think.” A.J. took a small sip of the liquor and sat back down in front of her papers. “There are a couple of problems with your plan. First, it diminishes me in the eyes of Ed’s men, and second, I’ll resent you for not taking my wishes into consideration.”

“It won’t diminish you in the eyes of Ed’s men.”

“There are three other executive producers staying in their trailers tonight, are you planning on having Ed put watches on them? Hell, did you even know they were here?”

“Fine, it’s because it’s you. If you really can’t afford the commute time, I’m staying here.”

“Kane, be reasonable. The guys told me about your new assignment at the airport. Don’t you have to be there first thing? Staying here and then hustling to get changed before getting to the airport doesn’t make sense.”

He got up and looked in her fridge. At least there was something besides olives this time. He pulled out three cartons—one had saffron-scented rice, another held chicken, and the third he had to sniff before he realized it was beef mixed in with curry.

“Have you had dinner?” he asked.

“Yes, at the time when normal people have dinner.”

“What did you have?”

“A candy bar.”

Kane pulled plates down and dished out the rice, chicken, and beef onto the plates. Then he heated them up in the microwave. He pulled out two bottles of water and this time he made the effort to squeeze his body into the seat so he could sit across from A.J.

“So, what does A.J. stand for?”

“Family secret,” she said as she took a bite of food.

“I can find out.”

“What would be the fun in that? You know you want to see if you can cajole it out of me.”

She was right. He took a bite of his food. It was good. They ate in silence with her flipping through some of her notecards. He picked up some of her discards.

“Who are these people?”

“They’re the press. I have to decide where everyone is going to be placed. It’s worse than figuring out the seating arrangement for a wedding when both sets of parents are divorced and remarried. There are all these little rivalries that go on that I need to be cognizant of.”

“Screw ‘em.”

“I wish I could, but if I don’t keep them separated, they’ll get into petty squabbles that will turn into bigger fights, which is one more headache I don’t need as I’m dealing with not just the contestants but all the entourages.”

She took another bite of food and poured them both another shot of scotch. “Luckily my assistant, who has been M.I.A. for the last week will be here tomorrow. It’s been killing me not having her here.”

“Who’s that?”

“Shelly. She was on her honeymoon. It’d been planned for a year ahead of time, and she’s the only one I would have chosen for this job, so it was worth waiting for her.”

Kane looked down at the card in his hand. “Isn’t this the anchor for the morning show on ABC?”

“Yep. This one does the weekend update on Fox, and here’s the one for MSNBC,” she said as she flipped him another two cards. “We’re going to have over two hundred members of the press.”

It made his head spin. He hated the press. Everything the SEALs did was to fly under the radar—the idea of being so close to reporters made his skin crawl. Very few people knew that Kane McNamara of KM Industries transitioned to the Navy seven years ago. Very few people. He’d sold off everything, he didn’t even sit on the board of directors, he didn’t want there to be the slightest hint of impropriety if KMI went after government contracts. But still, his face was recognizable, so he worked extra hard to stay out of the limelight.

“Kane, are you listening to me?”

“Sure, you want me to do the dishes and then crawl into bed with you.”